Now that The War of the Bounty Hunters event has come to an end, it’s been interesting to read the Star Wars collections containing tie-in books not on my monthly pull list. One of those titles is Bounty Hunters, penned by Ethan Sacks with art from Paolo Villanelli. Bounty Hunters has earned word-of-mouth praise at my local comic shop during the course of this event, so I was interested to see how the creative team connected their core cast of characters to the larger Star Wars comic event. Like many of the other tie-ins to this crossover, creative teams were able to keep their book’s involvement to a reasonable level while furthering the narrative arcs of their characters, making this a pleasant (if inconsequential) read.
Narratively, Bounty Hunters fits well into the larger event, with issues #12-17 collected in this TPB. With every hero and rogue in the galaxy coming together to take Han Solo’s encased body into their possession, Valance and Dengar have fundamental motivation to get involved in these events. With Valance having previous interactions with Solo during their days in the Imperial military, Sacks does a fine job giving new readers like myself a clear understanding of his relationship with Solo and some of these Star Wars mainstays. Like the rest of the War of the Bounty Hunters event, this entire book is fast-moving and is centered around the action on the page. The fact that Sacks can delve into his titular characters while keeping a breakneck speed throughout, is a testament to his skill as a comic writer.
Marvel Comics
It’s not just Beilert Valance — new characters like T’onga, Losha, and their pet Nexu were all made accessible to a new reader and made me interested to learn more about their personal arcs and conflicts. They get room to interact, and the reader can decipher a decent understanding of their larger purpose within this title, all while sticking them into the larger crossover.
Paolo Villanelli’s art is excellent throughout; in fact, it’s some of the strongest work across the Star Wars line at the moment. His work is detailed and vibrant, capturing the combat effectively without compromising on the background scale established by the script. I look forward to seeing his work in the future — he is an up-and-coming artist to keep your eye on.
Marvel Comics
Like some of the other War of the Bounty Hunters tie-in runs, it ends on a cliffhanger, setting up a future arc for this title. It was an interesting conclusion, and gives the book plenty of places to go, putting Valance back in Vader’s orbit. It may feel like the entire event was frivolous when viewed as a whole, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed following these characters and their escapades.
We are treated to a few variant covers and a one page bio for Valance, which helps new readers get up to speed with the main character (I wish all collections like this included such details). The book itself is well bound, colorful and feels cinematic like a Star Wars comic should. Even if you were not interested in the War of the Bounty Hunters event, this collection of issues is a fine Star Wars adventure that is satisfactorily accessible to new readers.
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